Golf is enjoyed by a wide variety of players—players of different genders, ages and/or skill levels. However, one thing that all golfers have in common is a desire to improve their performance, lower their golf scores, and reach that next performance “level.” Manufacturers of all types of golf equipment have responded to these demands, and in recent years, the industry has witnessed dramatic changes and improvements in golf equipment, whether to the golf ball, the golf club, or golfing paraphernalia such as shoes, gloves, etc. For example, golf clubs have been the subject of much technological research and advancement in recent years and a wide range of different golf club models are now available. Clubs and individual club components (golf club heads, shafts, hosels, grips, etc.) have been designed to complement specific swing speeds and/or other player characteristics or preferences, e.g., with clubs designed to make the golf ball fly farther, straighter, faster, slower, higher, flatter, with more spin, with less spin, with more control, with greater “feel”; etc. Additionally, other technological advancements have been made in an effort to better match the various characteristics of the golf club and golf club components to a particular user's swing features or characteristics (e.g., club fitting technology, ball launch angle measurement technology, ball spin rates, etc.).
Golf clubs have traditionally been categorized as drivers or woods, irons and putters, although the distinctions have become blurred with the more recent introduction of hybrid golf clubs. As compared to woods, irons are used for making relatively short, high-trajectory shots, such as for shots approaching the green or from more difficult lies such as from the rough, through or over trees, or the base of hills. Irons feature relatively thin, metal, club heads. They have a flat angled face and a shorter shaft than a wood. Typically, the face of an iron will be horizontally grooved to impart spin.
Standard irons are numbered from 1 to 9. The higher the number, the higher the loft, i.e., the greater the angle difference between the face of the club head and the axis of the club shaft. A 1-iron is typically lofted at about 15 to 18 degrees; a 9-iron is typically lofted at about 41-46 degrees.
Higher loft irons, i.e. irons with a higher loft than a 9-iron, may also be referred to as wedges. Wedges are used for a variety of short-distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy shots such as hitting the ball onto the green, placing the ball accurately on the fairway for a better shot at the green, or hitting the ball out of hazards or rough onto the green. Wedges may have lofts ranging up to about 60 degrees.
Two common styles of iron-type club heads are available: the traditional “blade” style and the more modern “cavity back” style. The blade-style features a full back on the rear of the club head, whereas the cavity back-style features, at least to a certain degree, a hollowed out back. The cavity back-style creates an effect known as “perimeter weighting,” which allows more of the club head weight to be placed around the edges of the club head, leaving the center with less material. This added mass is designed to reduce the amount of club twist (by increasing the club head's moment of inertia) when the ball is struck towards the edge of the club, rather than in its center. This results in an increase in the size of the effective hitting area, i.e., the “sweet spot.”
While the industry has witnessed dramatic changes and improvements to golf equipment in recent years, some players continue to experience difficulties in reliably hitting a golf ball in an intended direction and with an intended ball flight.
Accordingly, there is room in the art for further advances in golf club technology.